This invention relates to improved appliance locks, which control the use of an appliance through the control of the power supplied to the appliance. Appliance locks are very useful on televisions in homes of families having children, since parents can control their children's viewing habits automatically.
While meeting with substantial success, prior locks have also met with certain limitations. For example, some locks require parents to keep track of keys, some locks have mechanical components that are prone to failure. Other locks have limited functionality; for example, some locks do not allow for control of both total time and time blocks for viewing. Other locks are excessively complex, unreliable, or expensive to fabricate. Further, such systems do not block access of children to undesirable television stations during selected times.
From the above, it is seen that an improved appliance lock system is desired.